1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a material for packing a laundry treatment apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a laundry treatment apparatus includes a main body having an entrance/exit hole through which laundry such as clothes or bed clothes are entered or exited, a door opening and closing the entrance/exit hole, and a washing tub rotated by a motor to treat the laundry. The laundry treatment apparatus means an apparatus for performing washing, dehydrating, and drying laundry. Known laundry treatment apparatuses include washers, dehydrators, dryers, etc. Recently, a diversity of multi-functional laundry treatment apparatuses are being developed to perform all of the above functions, and such apparatuses, together with the conventional laundry treatment apparatuses, are collectively referred to as washing machines regardless of the functions they provide.
Hereinafter, as an example of the laundry treatment apparatus, a washing machine is described.
FIG. 4 illustrates a conventional washing machine. FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which a packing material applies to the conventional washing machine. Referring to FIG. 4, a washing machine 1 includes a main body 10 having an entrance/exit hole 12h through which objects, such as clothes or bed clothes, to be washed (hereinafter, referred to as “laundry”) is entered and exited and a door 16 opening and closing the entrance/exit hole 12h. The door 16 may be rotatably coupled with the main body 10.
The main body 10 may include a cabinet 11 with an upper part opened and a top cover 12 coupled with the upper part of the cabinet 11 and having the entrance/exit hole 12h. In this case, the door 16 is coupled with the top cover 12.
Inside the cabinet 11 are provided an outer tub 22 containing washing water and an inner tub 24 rotatably provided in the outer tub 22 to contain the laundry put in through the entrance/exit hole 12h. The outer tub 22 is hung in the cabinet 11 by way of a supporting member 13, and an end of the supporting member 23 is fixed to the top cover 12, and another end of the supporting member 13 may be coupled with a lower end of the outer tub 22 by way of a suspension 14 mitigating the vibration of the outer tub 22.
The outer tub 22 may include a water storage tank 22a containing washing water and a water storage tank cover 22b covering the water storage tank and having an opening 22h to allow the laundry to be placed at the substantially middle thereof. The inner tub 24 may include a drum 24a in which the laundry is accumulated and a balancer 24b provided at an upper end of the drum 24a. The drum 24a includes a plurality of through-holes 24h through which washing water passes.
A driver 30 includes a motor 32 generating a rotational force, a rotational shaft 34 rotated by the motor 32, and a clutch (not shown) transferring the rotational force to rotate a pulsator 25. Under the proper control of the clutch, the pulsator 25 may be rotated alone or together with the inner tub 24.
A detergent box 15 contains various additives such as washing detergent, fabric softener for rinsing, and/or bleach, and the detergent box 15 may be disposed in the top cover 12 to be withdrawn. Washing water is supplied from an external water source such as a faucet through a water supply flow path 61 into the detergent box 15, and the washing water, together with the additives, is supplied to the outer tub 22. A water supply valve 62 may be provided to shut on/off the water supply flow path 61.
A water discharge pump 40 is provided on a water discharge flow path 44 communicating with the outer tub 22 to discharge the washing water out of the outer tub 22. A water discharge valve 42 may be further provided to shut on/off the water discharge flow path 44.
The top cover 12 may include a control panel 50 having an input unit (not shown) to receive various control commands on the overall operation of the washing machine and a display unit (not shown) to externally display the operational state of the washing machine and providing a user interface.
Such washing machine needs to have its inner components fixed to prevent damage that may occur due to impacts or shaking during shipping or delivery. In particular, the components, such as the inner tub 24, the outer tub 22, and/or the driver 30 which are suspended in the casing 10, require careful measures to be taken not to be shaken. For such purpose, the manufacturer utilizes a proper packing material to fix the components while in delivery.
Referring to FIG. 5, an upper part fixing packing material 200 for fixing the outer tub 22 at an upper part in the casing 10 and a lower part fixing packing material 300 for fixing the driver 30 at a lower part therein have been conventionally put to use.
The upper part fixing packing material 200 includes a lower end part 210 that is inserted into the inside of the outer tub 22 to inhibit the outer tub 22 from moving in a horizontal direction and an upper end part 220 that, at the outside of the outer tub 22, inhibits the outer tub 22 from moving in a vertical direction.
Since the lower end part 210 should be inserted into the inside of the outer tub 22, the outer diameter of the lower end part 210 should be equal or smaller than the diameter D2 of the opening 22h of the water storage tank cover 22b. 
As such, the upper end part 220 is larger in outer diameter than the lower end part 210, and a step is thus formed, inhibiting the vertical-directional move of the outer tub 22. In this case, the condition that at least a portion of the upper end part 220 should pass through the entrance/exit hole 12h of the top cover 12 requires a portion adjacent to the step 221 to have a diameter equal or smaller than D2 and larger than D1.
If the door 16 is closed with the upper part fixing packing material 200 installed, an upper end of the upper end part 220 is pressurized by the door 16, restricting the vertical-directional move thereof. Accordingly, the outer tub 22 is prevented from moving in the vertical direction by the step 221 while in delivery.
The lower part fixing packing material 300 includes a casing support 310 supporting the casing 10 and a driver support 320 projected upward from the casing support 310 to surround and support at least a portion of the driver 30. The lower part fixing packing material 300 restricts a vertical-directional move of the outer tub 22 and/or the inner tub 24 assembled integrally with the driver 30, as well as the driver 30 while also restricting a horizontal-directional move of the same.
Packing using the upper part fixing packing material 200 and the lower part fixing packing material 300 may prevent the outer tub 22 from shaking in the horizontal and vertical directions while in delivery, but such functions are fundamentally limited as applying to the structure in which the diameter D2 of the opening 22h of the water storage tank cover 22b is smaller than the diameter D1 of the entrance/exit hole 12h of the top cover 12 because the step 221 restricting the vertical-directional move of the outer tub 22 should be fixed to the outside of the outer tub 22 without being inserted into the inside of the outer tub 22 and thus the entrance/exit hole 12 should have a size large enough to permit the passing of the step 221 whereas the opening 22h should have a size in which the step 221 cannot pass therethrough.
However, there is an effort to increase the volume of the outer tub 22 for an increased capacity. In the case of large-size washing machines, the opening 22h of the outer tub 22 has a larger diameter than that of the entrance/exit hole 12h of the casing 10. Accordingly, a need exists for a packing material for such state-of-art washing machines, which may fasten the outer tub 22 and all other components thereof to prevent a shake during delivery.